The inaugural U.S. military flight for the deportation of migrants to Guantanamo Bay has taken off, with expectations of landing on Tuesday evening, according to two U.S. officials. This flight marks the beginning of what is anticipated to be an increase in the number of migrants transported to the U.S. Navy base in Cuba, a location that has historically been associated with the detention of individuals connected to the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Former President Donald Trump had previously viewed Guantanamo as a potential relocation site for migrants, asserting that it has the capacity to accommodate up to 30,000 individuals. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has firsthand experience at the Guantanamo facility during his military service, referred to it as an optimal location for housing migrants. Recently, additional U.S. military personnel have arrived at the base to assist with preparations for this initiative.
However, the decision to utilize Guantanamo as a migrant holding facility has drawn sharp criticism. Amy Fischer, the director of the Refugee and Migrant Rights Program at Amnesty International USA, condemned the move as “profoundly cruel and costly.” She expressed concerns that the deportation would isolate migrants from legal representation, family, and their support systems, effectively placing them into a “black hole” where their human rights could be overlooked. Fischer called for the permanent closure of Guantanamo Bay in a recent statement.
On Monday, the U.S. also arranged for the repatriation of Indian migrants back to India, with the flight still in progress as of Tuesday midday, according to one official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details not yet made public. This recent action follows seven previous deportation flights that included destinations such as Ecuador, Guam, Honduras, and Peru. Additionally, Colombian authorities facilitated two flights to return migrants to Colombia.
Currently, around 300 service members are engaged in supporting operations at Guantanamo Bay, with numbers subject to change based on the needs of the Department of Homeland Security, which is overseeing the initiative. Of these personnel, at least 230 are U.S. Marines from the 6th Marine Regiment, who started their deployment on Friday.
The United States is home to more than 725,000 unauthorized immigrants from India, ranking third behind Mexico and El Salvador, as reported by the Pew Research Center. In recent years, there has been a notable increase in the number of Indians attempting to cross into the U.S. via the Canadian border. In the year ending September 30, U.S. Border Patrol apprehended over 14,000 Indian nationals at the Canadian border, representing 60% of all arrests made there and significantly exceeding figures from two years prior.
Reports on these flights were first released by CNN.
